Iowa State University's College of Veterinary Medicine Goes Beyond Lecture Capture with EchoVideo
By Mary Jane Pettola, David Kaplan
A New Era of Learning and Teaching
At Echo360, we are dedicated to reshaping educational experiences through innovative technology. Our partnership with Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine has been a testament to this mission. Over the years, our EchoVideo platform has seamlessly integrated into their educational framework, bringing about significant advancements in both teaching and learning processes.
It Began with Lecture Capture
When Iowa State University first implemented EchoVideo, it primarily served as a lecture capture tool. Dr. Suzanne Millman, a Professor of Animal Welfare, recalls the early days with fondness. “When EchoVideo was first implemented, it was used primarily as a lecture capture provider. I have no problems with students following up with material asynchronously and allowing students to learn in the ways that work for them,” she reflects. This flexibility has been crucial, especially in ensuring that students can stay home when ill without missing out on crucial lectures.
The Power of Analytics for Attendance and Participation
When students don’t make it to class, EchoVideo provides immense value to instructors. For example, Dr. Gayle Brown, a Professor of Basic Science, allows students to attend class using EchoVideo, but requires they complete a supplementary professional summary covering the relevant material.
Dr. Brown shared, “We do offer an option for students to view the Echo[Videos] outside of class if they couldn’t come and submit what we call a professional reflection to substitute for attendance so they can use the Echo[Video] to do that, complete that assignment. And then if they don’t attend class and I haven’t seen the professional reflection, I can go in and see. Did they? Are they viewing these lectures or not? And especially helpful if I have a dispute on grades that I can say, well, you didn’t come to class and you weren’t watching the lectures.”
One of the standout features of EchoVideo for Iowa State has been its robust analytics and participation tracking capabilities. Dr. Brown highlights the impact that these tools have had to not only ensure accurate records, but also provide insights around student engagement.
Dr. Millman agrees and added how EchoVideo can lead to more efficient use of class time, “The students asked last year if I provided them video that they could be watching in advance so that we have more time with the birds and less time with me demonstrating… now I can follow up and see if they did indeed do that.” Since EchoVideo combines the asynchronous video capability to enable students to access the content, and the analytics to ensure it was utilized, EchoVideo provides the helping hand that instructors like Dr. Millman need in order to make better use of class and ensure students understand concepts taught in the course.
Clinical Skills Lab Transformation
Although Iowa State began leveraging EchoVideo for lecture capture of synchronous courses, the institution has been able to take advantage of EchoVideo far beyond these uses. Clinical skills lab is an integral part of the veterinary curriculum and Iowa State was interested in empowering students to reference and learn from the practical knowledge gained from hands on experience.
After reimagining how EchoVideo could transform clinical skills lab experience, Iowa State benefited from the platform’s versatile content capabilities. Emily Price, VCS Veterinary Technician, shares their experience on bringing the vision to life, “We have a clinical skills lab that has a lovely set of cameras that we use to record content for training videos and so Echo[Video’s] given me the ability to tap into those computers, make sure I have both views available simultaneously. I can then upload that video onto Echo[Video] and from there share it to different faculty and stuff members that are working with with me on these projects and then also, pull video from other rooms, record myself reading off a PowerPoint or things like that as we update our training videos. So it’s been a really great versatile tool for those purposes.”
Since EchoVideo offers the ability to utilize up to four streams of video at once using QuadraVision, it’s a perfect fit for this hands on practical piece of the curriculum and allows students to learn from multiple video angles of these exacting procedures. These recordings are not just limited to the clinical skills lab. They extend to other rooms, allowing the integration of various training materials.